The Sotcham Peoples
Created by /u/dontfearme22 GEOGRAPHY The Boat People are native to the Nanai and know no other homeland. They travel beyond its borders, but few ever call another land home. The Nanai is a small archipelago of tropical islands. Almost all the islands are forested to some extent, those unforested largely barren sand banks and coral boulders. Some have small internal mountains and canyons, all slick and jagged extrusions of volcanic stone. BIOLOGY/ETHNICITY A Sohuad (a Soti person) is human, and generally short, at about 5 feet tall with a man above 5”5 considered tall for his race. They have dark skin and long black hair, often bundled atop the head. Their faces are round with close eyes and square chins. HISTORY The history of the Sotcham races is generally divided by their own scholars into four periods: A long prehistoric period before the advent of the legendary Water-snake kings, who united the lands into the first Kameman, “empire”. This lasted for a undefined period of time before the rise of the first historic dynasties, (the second period), which eventually collapsed into waves anarchy and petty kingship before the current era, defined by a renewed confederacy that can properly claim the name of a Kamemanate once again. SOCIETY The Soti define themselves by their home island, region, and village. They live organized among states of various ranks and sizes that are themselves extensions of a similar power structure to the simple village of their populace. They have strong class divisions. CULTURE Sotcham are fond of jewelry, and regularly wear distinctive hoop earrings, bands, armlets, and collars made of beaten metal. They wear bright clothing, and decorate their hair with elaborate pins. As for religion, Sotcham traditional religion is a polytheistic animistic faith that believes all natural things are imbued with spiritual essence. There are greater and lesser spirits along with a group of all-powerful gods. Sotcham also worship their deified ancestors. OCCURRENCE OF MAGIC Sotcham use both village magic, ‘sek’ and formal court magic, developed in Mayakar some centuries prior, euphemistically called taralasi ‘the beautiful art’. While sek is simple druidism, taralasi is a elaborate and refined mystic art built around intricate incantations and the weaving of spells with academic focus. Fundamentally, sek is a art for invoking the natural world for the benefit of man, while taralasi invokes the raw forces of creation, the underlying motions beneath the visible faces of the world. MAJOR EXPORTS/IMPORTS The Nanai is rich in natural goods, like lumber, animal products, and precious shells. It lacks quality metals, which are imported in great quantities. Posts: The Sotcham Peoples A World Map from the Perspective of the Sotcham An Island Vignette: The Red Hunt Part 1 An Island Vignette: The Red Hunt Part 2 Sotcham Cuisine: An Introductory Guide The History of the Isles: Man and Moroi The Thunder Wars 18-35CE The Destruction of the Isles The Unpublished Commentary on the Bandit Armies of Yunsan by the Late Terar Enak’in Gay and Trans Individuals in Sotcham Society A Pleasant Conversation in an Unpleasant Town All Good Things Come in Two: The King Dies in Matol